Boise State University has achieved an academic distinction its leaders say has been more than a decade in the making. The school announced Wednesday its classification as a “Doctoral Research” institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
To achieve the designation, institutions need to award at least 20 research and scholarship doctoral degrees in a given year.
President Bob Kustra says he set the goal for the university when he took the job in 2003. He says much of the credit goes to faculty who came to Boise with research agendas.
“They worked not only at the graduate level in laboratories but they worked at the undergraduate level as well," Kustra says. "And they have significantly enhanced our educational quality.”
Since the Carnegie Foundation last classified institutions of higher education in 2008-2009, research expenditures at Boise State University have more than doubled, doctoral graduates have more than tripled and the number of doctoral students enrolled has increased to 188 from 82 — a 129 percent increase. This year, nearly 2,700 students are pursuing graduate degrees on campus or through one of Boise State’s nationally ranked online programs in business administration, nursing, educational technology and more. - Boise State press release
Boise State Provost Martin Schimpf says the designation will help the university attract more top talent, "so we may continue to expand and improve educational opportunities and the Boise State experience for students who attend this university.”
BSU joins the University of Idaho and Idaho State as Idaho universities with the “doctoral research” distinction.
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